Available now from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in hardcover for $20.oo. Throughout the 20th century, African-Americans faced extraordinary difficulties as they tried to earn a decent living and break the barriers that […]

Lifeline Theatre presents Fillet of Solo, a festival which celebrates Chicago’s storytelling and live lit scene. 14 storytelling collectives and solo performances come together for a three-week, multi-venue performance of […]

I’m Brianna Kratz, a Chicago poet and reader. For 2016 I am reading only women authors for my Read Only Women Experiment (R.O.W.E.). For weekly updates on challenges, conversations, and […]

Live lit events in Chicago can achieve various things at different times. They can be a celebration, perhaps for a new book. They can be a monthly or an annual […]

CHIRP Radio will be presenting its quarterly storytelling event The First Time with its newest incarnation First Blood January 14 at Martyrs’. The event will include a collection of talented […]

I’m Brianna Kratz, a Chicago poet and reader. For 2016 I am reading only women authors for my Read Only Women Experiment (R.O.W.E.). For weekly updates on challenges, conversations, and […]

Fillet of Solo is an annual three week, multi-venue festival celebrating Chicago’s storytelling and live lit scene. Originally produced by Live Bait Theatre, the festival now takes place in Rogers […]

In the last two years, the literary world was stunned by two unexpected—indeed, unasked for—sequels to literary classics. The first, 2015’s “Go Set a Watchman,” set off a firestorm of […]

Like the Poetry Slam of the ’90s and early aughts, storytelling is having its live lit moment in the sun in recent years. Popularized by shows such as The Moth […]

I’m talking on the phone to Chicago based singer songwriter and bandleader Stephanie Rogers. She tells me about her January 23rd Story Jam performance at the Wilmette Theater. Rogers acts […]

    My name is Brianna. In north side Chicago, born and raised, in the library was where I spent most of my days. Focusing on the classics by J.K. […]